History
Alexander Speirs of Elderslie amassed enormous wealth from 1745 until his death in 1782. One of Glasgow’s leading tobacco lords, he was reputed to be worth £153,000, a colossal figure somewhere in the region of £133 million in today’s money. He used much of this wealth to buy estates in Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire and in 1767 bought the Elderslie Estate from Helen Wallace, the direct descendent of William Wallace. The family wealth was further increased when the price of land doubled in the early 1800s.
A William Wallace enthusiast he called his house Elderslie House, which was on the site of the modern day Braehead shopping centre and was reputed to have owned two of Wallace’s double handed broadswords. He adopted Wallace’s crest, replacing the sword in the hand with a spear.
Elderslie Estates, into which many of the estates that Speirs bought were amalgamated, are still owned by his descendants and have diversified away from traditional landowning activities.
A William Wallace enthusiast he called his house Elderslie House, which was on the site of the modern day Braehead shopping centre and was reputed to have owned two of Wallace’s double handed broadswords. He adopted Wallace’s crest, replacing the sword in the hand with a spear.
Elderslie Estates, into which many of the estates that Speirs bought were amalgamated, are still owned by his descendants and have diversified away from traditional landowning activities.
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